A Whole Lotta Something: Cruisin' solo. Meat. Truth or Dance.

Ello bloggies, (that's British)

Lots to say in this post. Let's start with the fact that I went on a cruise by myself. I went on a cruise by myself. I said that twice because whenever I tell people that-- the first thing that comes out of their mouths is "whaaaat?"

But yes. It's true. My sweet friend Emily was supposed to go with me, but lost her grandmother to Pancreatic Cancer the day before we were to set sail, so she had to sit this one out. I was sad for her. She and her grandmother were close, but also because this little lady needs a vacation more than just about anyone I can think of... Alas, however. It was not in the cards for her to go. And since it was non-transferable and non-refundable, and I already had the time off work-- I forged ahead without her.

It was fun. I don't mind being by myself. I really don't. But I think it made everyone else on the ship VERY uncomfortable. This includes all the staff and pretty much anyone I met the whole time I was on the trip. I've got stories for days. I think they thought because I was traveling alone, I wanted to be included in everything THEY were doing. This couldn't have been further from the truth. I found myself lying a lot and going down to the "Serenity Deck" to read where there were no kids and no loud music allowed. I was disappointed to see that there were a total of about 4 attractive people on the entire ship, so I felt confident that I wasn't missing anything that was going on on the ~~skank deck~~ Lido deck.

I'd never been on a cruise before, and this was a Carnival cruise. They, apparently, cater to a younger crowd, which I thought would be good thing. I soon found out, however, that "younger crowd" was just code for "people with a lot of tattoos that think this entire experience is an episode of MTV's Cancun Spring Break".

The beaches were gorgeous. The weather was perfect. I got an hour long massage out in the open air of Progreso, Mexico for 15 dollars! I went ziplining in Cozumel, and it was awesome. I also went snorkeling. Soooo fun and beautiful... until a jelly fish got me on the knee. It hurt a lot, but I'm not harboring any hard feelings. I've logged many an hour in the ocean in my life so far, and it was the first time I'd ever been hit. I spent the rest of that day in a hammock on the beach where it was 80 degrees and there was a constant breeze and sunshine. Not a THING to complain about in that scenario. I had lots of time to think. I had lots of time to pray. No phone, no computer, no distractions. Just me. I loved.

I'd like to move on now because there a few other things I'd like to share here and then clean off the notepad on my iPhone.

When's the last time you heard of a baby under 9lbs being born? It's been a looong time for me. Maybe there's just something in the water around here, but mark my words: baby weights are on the rise.

What about slapping raw meat in the grocery store? I recently found out that not everyone does this! I mean-- whaaat?! Whenever I see a giant slab of meat just hangin' out in that refrigerated section of the grocery, I have GOT to slap it. I just do.

And while we're on the subject--- I wonder why meatloaf gets such a bad wrap in the movies? I guess the name could be better... ... but my friend Kelly made it the other night, and it was delicious! I think meatloaf is awesome.

A bunch of my friends decided they were going to cut out alcohol during the month of January. I actually decided that I hadn't been drinking ENOUGH and upped the ante a little bit.

And while we're on the subject of drinking.... I ran across these never-before-seen-photos the other day and thought I'd share a few. The game we are playing is called "Truth or Dance." It was a surefire favorite of our crew's back in the day. It's played exactly how it sounds. Everyone forms a circle and you spin the bottle. Whoever it lands on gets to tell a truth about themselves or get in the middle and dance. Hilarious. I don' think anyone's given up a truth in about 5 years. We got together last February at my house for my good friends Zach and Amanda's engagement party. It started out really sophisticated and grownup and ended up with Fireball shots and Truth or Dance...

It was awesome.